BETHLEHEM — To the believers, what happened 2,000 years ago in this city is not just history. It is also a story of redemption, a story of love, a story of surrender, a story of humility, a story of exultation. A shining moment for mankind.
The genesis of salvation began in Bethlehem when Jesus Christ was born. And to touch the Star of Bethlehem — the 14-ray silver star that serves as an overlay on the exact spot where Jesus was born — is to touch the dignity of humanity saved from sins.
A calm surrender is felt in the dimly lit cave that now houses a grotto with the Star of Bethlehem. Tears of joy flow because a baby had to be born to redeem the world when he became a man. Then peace envelops the body; the kind of peace that is pure and simple, obliging, obeying, unrelenting, unquestioning. The kind of peace that is not rattled by the throng of humanity lining up to touch the star, to be in the same place where it all began.
This was the second time my best friend Christine Dayrit and I traveled together to the Holy Land to experience the birthplace of the Savior. We joined the pilgrim group of our sister Yvonne Dayrit-Romualdez, with the charismatic and insightful Fr. Dennis Paez as the spiritual guide of the group, and together we walked the path He walked on to be with Him, to experience everything about Him — from His birth, to His death, to His resurrection.
Always, always, Bethlehem is a source of inspiration because it is the manger that first comes to my mind when a trip to the Holy Land is planned. Like how joy and peace were intertwined in me the minute my hands held the Star of Bethlehem in a dimly lit cave that housed the emblem. It was cold inside the cave grotto but there was warmth inside me. Indescribable was the feeling. It was moving, calming, consoling. It was unforgettable even if only for a fleeting moment because one could not stay longer touching the Star of Bethlehem as thousands of people were lining up to get the same experience. But the few seconds of venerating at the holy place felt like an eternity as old as 2,000 years old.
To be in the exact place where Jesus was born remains the most touching spiritual experience I have had in my life. It’s a divine strengthening again of faith.
Bethlehem means “House of Bread” in Hebrew and “House of Meat” in Arabic, as explained by our kind and erudite Palestinian Christian tour guide, Faris Azar.
“Above this cave-like manger, the Church of the Nativity was built in the fourth century by Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena. The church, to this day, is shared by the Armenians, the Greek Orthodox and the Christians,” added Faris.
Faris said the 14 rays of the Star of Bethlehem mark the genealogy of Jesus — from Abraham to David. They also symbolize 14 generations from David to the deportation to Babylon; and from the deportation to Babylon to Jesus Christ as written in Matthew 1.
With hearts filled with joy, we left the holy ground of the Church of the Nativity to visit the Shepherds’ Field, the site where, as written in Luke 2, the shepherds heard the good tidings of Jesus’ birth from the angel of the Lord who told them to go to Bethlehem to adore the child.
“At the same birth time, less than a mile away from the birthplace,” Faris explained while quoting Luke 2, “there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ‘An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God, and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”
“Why did the Lord choose the shepherds to be the first to know about the birth of Jesus?” asked Fr. Dennis during the homily when he said Mass for our group at the cave, an original dwelling place of the shepherds during that time.
“It is because God always has a heart for the least, the last and the lost. That He revealed it first to the shepherds also revealed the preference of God,” he said. “The shepherds were the lowest in society. They did not own anything. They were nomads. For the shepherds, it was not difficult to visit the Messiah. It was not a contradiction for them to go see Baby Jesus right away because it was natural for them to move around.”
And there, in the Shepherd’s Field, the first Christmas carols were sung by the shepherds — “the least, the last, the lost.”
And for us, as we continued our prayers at the Chapel of the Shepherds’ Field built atop the cave where we heard Mass, we sang Ang Pasko ay Sumapit, as we felt every word of the song.
All the Christmas carols that we had been singing since we were children —Silent Night, O Holy Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Little Town of Bethlehem — came alive. A divine force was present as our voice echoed on the walls of the chapel. There were tears of joy. Our smiles were as open as the sky. It was a triumphant moment.
Christmas, indeed, came early for us in Bethlehem.
Merry Christmas!